Imagine a secret treasure buried deep in a hidden cave. No one knows exactly when or how this treasure emerged. The same goes for infant consciousness. Scientists have been puzzling over when and how babies first become aware of their experiences. Some believe that consciousness only kicks in after the baby’s first birthday, like a magical potion that takes time to brew. Others, however, argue that consciousness is present from the moment of birth, or maybe even before that! Unmasking this mystery has been challenging because studying infant consciousness is like trying to catch a wave without understanding how to surf. But recent advances in research using non-verbal and intentional behavior methods have shed some light on the early origins of consciousness, leaning towards the idea that it arises much earlier than we thought. To uncover more about this fascinating subject, dive into the depths of the underlying research!

Although each of us was once a baby, infant consciousness remains mysterious and there is no received view about when, and in what form, consciousness first emerges. Some theorists defend a ‘late-onset’ view, suggesting that consciousness requires cognitive capacities which are unlikely to be in place before the child’s first birthday at the very earliest. Other theorists defend an ‘early-onset’ account, suggesting that consciousness is likely to be in place at birth (or shortly after) and may even arise during the third trimester. Progress in this field has been difficult, not just because of the challenges associated with procuring the relevant behavioral and neural data, but also because of uncertainty about how best to study consciousness in the absence of the capacity for verbal report or intentional behavior. This review examines both the empirical and methodological progress in this field, arguing that recent research points in favor of early-onset accounts of the emergence of consciousness.

Read Full Article (External Site)